Monday, March 4, 2013

Five Favorite Parenting Books

A friend gave this to me before I had my first son, and I read the whole thing while nursing him. I continued to use it as a reference as time went on because it had great information and a very easy-to-use format.

I love Dr. Karp. I read Happiest Baby in the wee hours of the night on my Kindle, when Isaac was a newborn. I followed the ideas for sleep and soothing that Dr. Karp suggested, and Isaac was a sweet, content baby. I read Happiest Toddler when Adam was 2 or 3 to help deal with the temper tantrums. The book gave several practical suggestions for dealing with the troublesome toddler years. Both books helped me understand my child’s needs and how to meet those needs in a way that worked for all of us.

Neither of my boys were great sleepers. I tried some other sleeping books that were not helpful, but this one was. Dr. Weissbluth outlines what the sleep needs are for each age and the best way to achieve them. This book is not short, and the information can be kind of hard to find, but if you are desperate enough for sleep, you WILL read it and it WILL work!

I just read this book recently after posting on Facebook that I was having trouble with my 4 year old. After reading only a few pages, I was able to try some of the strategies with success! It is fairly short and has been a big help for us.

This is my all-time favorite for parents and teachers, no matter what age your child is. It changed my teaching and guides my parenting daily. Each chapter focuses on a common parenting practice, and then uses scientific research to show a DIFFERENT and BETTER way to do things. My favorite chapter is first: The Inverse Power of Praise, but there are also chapters on racism, teaching your baby to talk, teen rebellion, and other important topics.

What are your favorite parenting books? Please share them here or on Facebook.

(The Amazon links here are affiliate links.)

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About Me

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura wrote about her life on the prairie in the Little House books. I write about my life on the prairie here, On the Banks of Squaw Creek. I hope you'll stay to learn more about me, our farm, our family, and our farmhouse.